Despite a multiplicity of already available fragrances, there continues to be a general need in the perfume industry for new fragrances which, in addition to their primary, specific odour, properties, have additional positive secondary properties such as, for example a higher stability under certain application conditions, improved spreading capacity, a better adhesion or the like.
It has already been known for a long time that the chemical group of substances comprising the nitrites contains a number of interesting fragrances. Known commercial products are citronellyl cyanide, geranyl cyanide and cinnamyl cyanide. A review of nitrites as fragrances is given by Vasanti G. Yadav in Perfumery Nitriles and Acetals: Part II, Synthesis and Characteristics of Nitriles, PAFAI J. (1994), 16 (2), 29–42. More recent publications on nitrites as constituents of perfumes are the patent documents U.S. Pat. No. 5,179,222, U.S. Pat. No. 6,180,814 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,521,151. The latter documents relate to nitrites, which, in addition to their primary odour characteristic, are characterized by a particularly high stability in aggressive media (for example aqueous solutions having a particularly high or particularly low pH value).